To be surprised and disappointed by this man's assumption?

[BeHappySloth]

Answered the door at lunchtime on a wfh day, it was a guy from ipsos wanting to do a survey. He had a proper ID etc.

I was happy to do the survey, and we went through the questions. One of them was about whether I was the primary income earner in the household. He read the question and then added, before I had an opportunity to respond, "presumably that's your husband". (I had already told him that I was married.)

AIBU to be surprised and disappointed that someone would still openly voice such an assumption in this day and age? Even if he thought it, I would have expected him to know better than to say it?

FWIW, the assumption was incorrect but that shouldn't really matter.

Thanks for all the responses. I'm sorry to hear that others have encountered similar attitudes.

Does every household have a primary breadwinner?

I would presume he meant as in regards to relationship status as in you live in the same house and your husband and the word husband being a label for a male partner

Well if this man was the primary earner of his family…. They’d be living very frugally given he will be bringing in a very low salary

Well unless you earn exactly the same, then yes 😵‍💫

That's a actually a very good question!

Isn’t it just whomever earns more

Sorry, I don't understand your point?

He was presuming that my husband was the higher earner.

I’d have said

“pity your family if you’re the primary breadwinner”

well, not really because that would have been mean but I’d have thought it!

To be fair he could just be very aware of the gender pay gap (maybe another survey he does)which does often mean men get the higher salary. And yes - really disappointing these days but the disparities in pay still do exist between male & female employees.

I’m hoping you are joking here, if not you’re as guilty of stereotyping as the man doing the survey.

Bizarre that a man on a very low income would presume that the OP’s husband was the primary earner.